Over the past couple of years we’ve covered many stories that were broken through leaks — some companies are not as good at hiding secrets as others. One the best sources was a Twitter account that went by the handle “evleaks” (Evan Blass, a technology writer, formerly of Engadget), and it was amazingly reliable with a lot of the information posted, much of it Windows Phone related. That era is apparently coming to a sudden end.
Today, in a very brief tweet, Blass stated that it was time to step away, giving no real explanation for the decision, only thanking followers and calling it quits.
All good things must come to an end. Thank you for an amazing two years. [RETIREMENT]
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 3, 2014
It leaves speculation about and why this is happening. Conspiracy theories will likely abound, especially given that a Windows leaker had charges pressed against him by Microsoft. This time around, we get no such stories, at least not yet. Perhaps a company threatened the same type of proceeding, or maybe he just grew tired of doing it. Either way, it certainly leaves a bit of a hole in the news gathering process that many sites use.
Update: Blass has provided a reason to TNW in an interview. It all comes down to money. “I also started a website, and it’s actually done somewhat respectably, but with all the leaks going out on Twitter anyway, people have little incentive to visit, and most of my tech-savvy-heavy audience seem to be pretty heavy ad-block users, as well. It all adds up to an unsustainable living, and and with a progressively worsening disease [Blass was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis], I need to make sure I can prepare myself better for the future, financially,” Blass states.
Further reading: Microsoft, Windows Phone
